LIBRARIES AND MUSEUMS. For many years the Astor Library, founded under the will of John Jacob Astor, who died in 1848, leaving $400,000 for the purpose, was the only free library of importance in the city. The Mer cantile Library, which was founded in 1820, is a subscription library with more than 230.000 volumes. The Astor Library, in Lafayette Place, is entirely for reference, and is visited by about 125.000 readers every year. The Lenox Library (reference), at Fifth Avenue and Seventieth Street, the gift of the late James Lenox, was opened to visitors in 1877. In 1893 the Astor and Lenox libraries and the Tilden trust fund were consolidated as the New York Public Library (q.v.). The number of volumes is now over 785,000, The new building for the Public Li brary, a vast structure of white marble, 366 feet long and 246 feet wide, is upon the site of the old reservoir at Fifth Avenue, between Fortieth and Forty-second streets. Its estimated cost is about $5.000,000. It has shelving capacity for 1,250, 000 volumes. The first circulating library dates from 1880. There are now sixteen circulating libraries and rooms, which form a part of the general system, the Nev York Public Library, the New York Free Circulating Li brary, and other libraries haring been con solidated in 1901. In the same year Andrew Car negie offered the city $5,200,000 for the pur pose of building branch libraries on condition that the city furnish sites. Some sixty libraries will be built under this gift. The first one was opened in January, 1903. The library of Colum bia University contains about 325,000 volumes, of which 10,000 are in the reference room open to the public. The Cooper Union Library con tains about 32,000 volumes, the chief feature of winch is a complete set of patent office reports.
Among the private libraries of importance are those of the Historical Society, the Geographical Society, and the New York Society Library. The last, founded in 1734, has about 100,000 volumes. There are also special collections of books be longing to the American Society of Civil Engi neers, the New York Academy of Medicine, with 46.000 volumes, the New York Law Institute, having about the same number, and the Bar Association.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the most important in this country, for which a superb series of buildings on the east side of Central Park is projected, and partly completed, is the outcome of a public meeting held in 1869. Gifts came in so rapidly from citizens that the Legislature authorized the building of a fire-proof structure in Central Park at a cost of $500.000. This was formally opened in 1880. During the last twenty-five years a collection of art objects of every description, to the value of several mil lion dollars, has been gathered, chiefly by gifts from public-spirited citizens. There are paint ings, statuary, porcelains, ivories, tapestries, musical instruments, and Greek. Roman, and Egyptian antiquities. In 1902 a handsome en trance wing facing on Fifth Avenue was finished. The Rogers bequest of $6,000,000 1.'611 enable the Museum to make great progress. The American Museum of Natural History. on Centnil Park West, contains vast collections of stuffed ani mals, birds. reptiles, fishes, shells, and fos sils. The main lecture hall will seat. 1000 per sons. Museums of great interest are maintained also by the Historical Society, Columbia Univer sity, and the Lenox Library, the last named hav ing a tine picture gallery.